Chama lashes out at VJ

VETERAN politician Vernon Mwaanga has been accused of trying to blackmail Government Patriotic Front secretary general Davies Chama has charged.

Mr. Chama said that Mr. Mwaanga had been critical of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government of late because he was ‘‘trying to use the back door to come back into politics for a living’’. Commenting on Mr. Mwaanga’s statement that he doubted whether Zambia would stage a free and fair election next year following traces of political violence with the latest being the police attack on the MMD in Eastern Province last week, Mr. Chama wondered why Mr. Mwaanga had continued to actively participate in politics despite his declaration that he had retired.
Last week, police teargased MMD members who were attending a mobilisation meeting for party structures being addressed by Dr Nevers Mumba in Lundazi.
He charged that Mr. Mwaanga’s behaviour of late was testimony that he was desperately trying to attract the attention of the ruling party by waging a smear campaign against.
“He (Mr. Mwaanga) is now trying to attract the attention of PF by making comments about anything, even issues he does not understand, with a view that he will creep through the back door back into politics so that he can make a living but the PF will not tolerate that.
“He has resigned from politics a number of times and had managed to bounce back using the same tactics of holding governments at ransom so that he can be co-opted into the system because he thinks that it is the only way he will manage to make money. Why can’t he emulate other veteran politicians who have retired from politics?” Mr. Chama asked.
He said politicians should not take advantage of the peace Zambians had continued to enjoy by bringing in unnecessary tension by thinking that they were above the law and conducting themselves in a way that would bring anarchy in the country.
“If there were no free and fair elections, we would not have managed to get into power to replace the MMD and the MMD itself would not have won the election against UNIP and we will have free and fair elections even next year because that is what we are known for.